This invention relates generally to methods and apparatus for recovering energy and useful products from waste material and, more particularly, to methods and apparatus for treating plantain and plantain waste, such as are found in Ghana, in a self-contained waste treatment plant for generating electricity and recovering carbonaceous organic substances, such as pyroligneous acids, as well as for forming compounds such as zeolites, dolomite and other related useful products.
Plantain is a large herbaceous plant with a short succulent stem sometimes attaining the height of twenty feet or more. This tropical tree-like herb grows in a natural state or can be cultivated. The plant is of great importance as it produces articles of food in the tropical climates. The name "plantain" varies from country to country but its basic ingredients are the same. In Ghana, several million acres of plantain farms are cultivated. This provides one of the most staple diets in the country. As a cultivated plant, each acre can be planted with 680 to 1435 suckers. These suckers require fifteen to eighteen months to reach the cutting stage. Each acre of a plantain farm can produce an average vegetable bunch weighing three tons. Out of this weight, only two tons are considered useful. After harvesting, the leaves, the porous sheaths of the trunk, the stock, and the vegetable peels weighing over twenty six tons per acre, are left in place to waste. Moreover, the fibers from the pseudostems of the plantain also constitute waste raw material.